Comments on: Users Bypass The File System in Day to Day Work http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/ Utterly random, incoherent and disjointed rants and ramblings... Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:15:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Luke Maciak http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6812 Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:11:31 +0000 http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6812 Oh man! I noticed that history thing too. I'm like "go to somewebsitethatyounevervisited.com" and the immediately go into the address box history and start scrolling around. Then they look up, and say "how do I go there?" Sigh... Oh man! I noticed that history thing too. I’m like “go to somewebsitethatyounevervisited.com” and the immediately go into the address box history and start scrolling around. Then they look up, and say “how do I go there?”

Sigh…

]]> by: Jake http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6811 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 23:15:34 +0000 http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6811 My mom is often the same way. She will never correctly save documents. She is also weird in her web browsing. To remember sites she will either: 1) email the URL to herself and then just let it sit there in Thunderbird until she needs it again. 2) Depend on the drop down history to find it- she panics when someone clears her history. For some reason she can never use bookmarks, even though I've explained them to her a number of times. My mom is often the same way. She will never correctly save documents. She is also weird in her web browsing. To remember sites she will either:

1) email the URL to herself and then just let it sit there in Thunderbird until she needs it again.
2) Depend on the drop down history to find it- she panics when someone clears her history.

For some reason she can never use bookmarks, even though I’ve explained them to her a number of times.

]]> by: Luke Maciak http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6810 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:15:48 +0000 http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6810 I do! I even sometimes imagine the little electron gun in the back of my CRT shooting particles onto the screen in slow motion. :) But yes, Clarke's Third Law stands nonetheless. Maybe this is why people insist on calling us "computer whiz" or "computer genius" - because we perform some incomprehensible arcane rituals to heal their magical blinkenlight boxes. I do! I even sometimes imagine the little electron gun in the back of my CRT shooting particles onto the screen in slow motion. )

But yes, Clarke’s Third Law stands nonetheless. Maybe this is why people insist on calling us “computer whiz” or “computer genius” - because we perform some incomprehensible arcane rituals to heal their magical blinkenlight boxes.

]]> by: Matt Doar http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6809 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:58:28 +0000 http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6809 That's because it is magic to them (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke's_three_laws" rel="nofollow">Clarke's Third Law</a>). Just as you don't think about how the monitor in front of you is actually displaying tiny dots of color. That’s because it is magic to them (Clarke’s Third Law). Just as you don’t think about how the monitor in front of you is actually displaying tiny dots of color.

]]> by: hdw http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6808 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:20:27 +0000 http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6808 I've noticed something very similar myself. The other thing I've found curious with Outlook users is that most of them don't know the difference between e-mail saved on the Exchange server and e-mail in personal folders on the computer. When the server is down they don't understand why they can't access online e-mail, and when their computer crashes they can't figure out why they lost e-mail they had refused to backup on their computer. It's all apparently supposed to be managed magically. I’ve noticed something very similar myself.

The other thing I’ve found curious with Outlook users is that most of them don’t know the difference between e-mail saved on the Exchange server and e-mail in personal folders on the computer. When the server is down they don’t understand why they can’t access online e-mail, and when their computer crashes they can’t figure out why they lost e-mail they had refused to backup on their computer. It’s all apparently supposed to be managed magically.

]]> by: jambarama http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6807 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 17:30:18 +0000 http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6807 I'd agree 100% with your observations. I'd suggest it says something about backups too, not that users don't do them because they don't know how to or where the files are stored, but because they think if everything is in their email they'll never lose it. Partially that is right I guess. Partially. One place where I ran across often this was the same with web based mail on public university computers. Users would "open" the file from their webmail, rather than download it, they'd spend along time editing it (even hitting save all along). They'd forget to email it again, or assume it was saved so they could come back, log off and leave. Unfortunately for them, the user profiles they logged in were temporary, except that "my docs" and their "desktop" folders were mapped to some network storage they all got. Since the document they'd edited wasn't put in "my docs", it stayed in that hidden temporary folder for IE (local settings\temporary internet files\content.ie5\WX56G\) and as such was never moved to their network storage. I’d agree 100% with your observations. I’d suggest it says something about backups too, not that users don’t do them because they don’t know how to or where the files are stored, but because they think if everything is in their email they’ll never lose it. Partially that is right I guess. Partially.

One place where I ran across often this was the same with web based mail on public university computers. Users would “open” the file from their webmail, rather than download it, they’d spend along time editing it (even hitting save all along). They’d forget to email it again, or assume it was saved so they could come back, log off and leave.

Unfortunately for them, the user profiles they logged in were temporary, except that “my docs” and their “desktop” folders were mapped to some network storage they all got. Since the document they’d edited wasn’t put in “my docs”, it stayed in that hidden temporary folder for IE (local settings\temporary internet files\content.ie5\WX56G\) and as such was never moved to their network storage.

]]> by: Luke Maciak http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6806 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:52:45 +0000 http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6806 Heh, interesting way to look at it. Which would also explain why so many users completely do not care about backups - because they don't really have a good grasp on how to manage a file system. Heh, interesting way to look at it.

Which would also explain why so many users completely do not care about backups - because they don’t really have a good grasp on how to manage a file system.

]]> by: Matt Doar http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6805 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:35:29 +0000 http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/2007/11/02/users-bypass-the-file-system-in-day-to-day-work/#comment-6805 It's really just call-by-reference versus call-by-value. You're comfortable with a greater level of indirection and know that technology has limits. Many people don't want to look beneath the covers. It’s really just call-by-reference versus call-by-value. You’re comfortable with a greater level of indirection and know that technology has limits. Many people don’t want to look beneath the covers.

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